Medical University of South Carolina Health employees were provided a final deadline of June 30 to be vaccinated against COVID-19, or to obtain a medical or religious exemption, as part of the Charleston-based system's mandate.
The count as of June 25: About 2,000 exemptions obtained and 24 employees out of about 17,000 who are not compliant or do not have a waiver.
Patrick Cawley, MD, CEO of the health system and vice president for health affairs for the university, said Medical University of South Carolina Health began mandating COVID-19 vaccination for leaders and new hires on April 15, with April 30 as the compliance deadline for that initial group. Ninety-seven percent of that group received vaccines, and 3 percent obtained medical or religious exemptions. The mandate was eventually extended to all the health system's employees, who were provided a final deadline of June 30 for compliance with either vaccination or exemption.
Dr. Cawley said the health system is now working with employees who are not yet vaccinated to boost compliance by the final deadline.
"We are working with these individuals to alleviate any remaining concerns if at all possible and are encouraging them to get a vaccine or submit an appropriate exemption form," he said in a statement shared with Becker's. "Ultimately, if they do not have a religious or medical exemption and choose not to get the vaccine for another reason, we will respect that individual decision and must also do what's best for the safety of our care team members, patients, patients' families and visitors by separating those individuals from the organization."
Medical University of South Carolina Health System is among the hospitals and health systems nationwide that have announced vaccine mandates. Read more about other mandates here.